Executive Summary
The print industry is changing rapidly. Customers are developing  increasingly complex documents and are consistently demanding shorter  turnaround times and greater output consistency. Personalized marketing  communications and higher volumes of shorter print runs increase the need  for files to come into the print shop ready to print with minimal operator  intervention. Both Xerox and Adobe are evolving our solutions to help our  customers stay ahead of the crowd and address their emerging  production requirements. 

Xerox and Adobe have partnered to integrate the Adobe PDF Print Engine  into the FreeFlow Digital Workflow Collection including the FreeFlow Print  Server. This addresses the needs of today’s print professional by enabling   a true end-to-end native Adobe PDF workflow. The FreeFlow Print Server with the new Adobe PDF Print Engine and JDF support drives workflow  consistency and flexibility in a number of ways. First, it processes native  PDF files without conversion to PostScript, maintaining design integrity  without any compromise. It also ensures reliable, consistent printing while  keeping the PDF documents themselves device-independent. Because the  Adobe PDF Print Engine uses a common renderer for previewing and final  output, printers and designers alike can count on reliable  oft proofs.

Current Workflow Challenges
There are a number of challenges facing designers and printers today. At  the top of the list is ensuring that the designer’s creative intent is easily and  reliably produced on a printer. Jobs can include design elements such as  transparencies, mixed color spaces and layers, Customer demands for fast turnaround times and an increased number of short run jobs add further complexity to managing the print production process. There is a need for designers as well as printers to have flexibility in their workflow, allowing jobs to be sent to any number of printers as well as make last minute changes to a print file without having to go back to the source application.

Taking Marketing to the Next Level Through Automation

Foreword by Laura Ramos

Vice President, Industry Marketing for Services, Xerox Corporation-North America, and former Forrester Research B2B marketing analyst

During the past four years, I had the privilege of studying and writing about business-to-business (B2B) marketing best practices at Forrester Research. I surveyed and spoke with thousands of B2B marketers about their processes and best practices. Through this work, it became clear to me that marketing’s influence is declining as business buyers go online to research purchase decisions using peer insights and independent experts. Years of being the department with hard-to-quantify outcomes make it difficult for marketing to specifically and concisely demonstrate its true impact on the business. New campaigns, clever advertising, and delving into social media mask over problems and won’t spur the profound changes required to avoid what may seem like an inevitable slide toward obsolescence.

To remain viable, marketers must invest in technical capability that lets them work smarter and run leaner. Specifically, top marketers I know set up marketing-specific data management systems to improve insight, automate lead development and cultivation, integrate digital and traditional channels, embrace social media, and continuously measure and quantify the results.

However, technology investment without the proper skills, planning, change management and execution rarely succeeds. Most marketers must also rely on key marketing services partners to advise – and outsource – the needed process change. I hope, as you read the following white paper, you will come to share my view that marketing stands on the verge of a major transformation. But that needed change comes through rigorous, data-driven assessments, expertise in new process design, workflow optimization inside and outside the firm, modern marketing automation capabilities, marketing logistical management and customized tracking tools that validate marketing’s forward progress.

Introduction

Sustaining brand loyalty and consumer demand has become increasingly difficult for marketing practitioners. Millions of dollars are invested annually in marketing and merchandising programs only to see declining consumer response rates and lower campaign returns on investment.

The traditional one-size-fits-all approach to Direct Marketing has lost its effectiveness. Industry results have shown that traditional direct marketing response rates have plummeted from their historical 2% factor to less than 0.6% for many of today’s mailings. And the National Do Not Call Registry is driving an increase in direct mail campaigns, thus making it more difficult for marketers to break through the consumer’s crowded mailbox to get desired levels of attention and consideration.

Even e-mail marketing, which has also exploded in volume, has been met with an equally significant decrease in response rates.

In spite of these challenges, marketers have alternatives available to leverage the data they have about their customers to create highly targeted direct marketing communications that drive significant increases in response rates, revenue and loyalty. This white paper provides you with an introduction to a new way to think about how you communicate with your customers.

What’s the Problem?

The problem with traditional direct marketing campaigns is that they are typically product-centric and not customer-centric. Clearly not all consumers are alike. They have different demographic profiles, income levels, and lifestyle and travel choices. These factors drive buying behavior. Yet most marketers ignore these differences by not tailoring direct-to-consumer communications to individual customer preferences or characteristics.

These issues point to the importance of personalization and relevance in leading marketers’ direct marketing efforts. The ability to create individualized and relevant communication will have a significant bearing on the results of your direct marketing (DM) campaign.